


Down the rabbit hole we go

by Brit_In_Space



Category: Game Grumps, PewDiePie (YouTube RPF), The Late Night Crew, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Completed already, Demons, Fran Bow AU!, Game Grumps (Breif), Rebellion, Septiplier - Freeform, more tags may be added, polaris - Freeform, slow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-02 21:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5264696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brit_In_Space/pseuds/Brit_In_Space
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Fran Bow AU* </p><p>After a recording session one day Jack finds it hard to shake off the feeling of being watched, he finds it even harder to put down his copy of 'Alice In Wonderland'. Why? He has no idea.</p><p>The next thing he knows he's falling through a strange abyss with his best friend, from then on he has no idea what is going on or where he is. All he knows is that he wasn't the only one to get dragged into this crazy world of demons and ghouls, and they want to get out.</p><p>Who will get home first? If at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I haven't been active since the end of October...noticed? Cookie if you did. But anyway, this lil' thing is what I've been working on. Everything has more or less been written before uploading. I have one and a half chapters left to do so...
> 
> ONE CHAPTER every SATURDAY if there are no problems. So subscribe to get notified and all that good stuff.
> 
> With that,
> 
> Enjoy this chapter.

"...and I will see all you dudes... in the next video!" Jack flung his arms up wildly into the air. Once again another video had ended and so had the recording time for that day. Closing the tab on the game he'd been recording, he turned off all the equipment he'd been using and instantly headed to his kitchen to grab some food.

As Jack rummaged for the slice of cake he swore he'd saved from yesterday the book that'd been given to him a while ago by Mark caught his eye on the counter. He'd started reading it but hadn't picked it back up in a while. Soon he gave up his search and begrudgingly settled for a bowl of ice-cream as he picked up the book and fell onto his sofa.

"Alice in Wonderland..." He muttered as he took a mouthful of his ice-cream and opened to the page he'd last been reading on, he wasn't entirely sure what he was reading, it certainly wasn't the Disney version, but he liked it.

Jack hadn't realized how much time he'd spent reading before he suddenly jerked back into reality and checked his watch.

"Holy shite." He'd been reading for almost an hour and a half, he was surprised his mind had stayed focused for so long. As he marked his page and put the book aside, he stretched out his body and stood up. Only to freeze at a few sharp rasps at his cabin door. He didn't speak or ask who was there but instead slowly made his way to the door and checking through the peep hole.

"Huh?" On the porch of his cabin stood a simple basket of chocolate chip cookies. It wasn't like this hadn't happened before but for the fan to ring a ditch was a bit off. Shrugging, Jack opened the door slightly and grabbed the handle of the basket, bringing it into the kitchen as he set it down onto the counter.

"Maybe they were just shy..." He reasoned as he grabbed one of the confectioneries and used it as an excuse to make more coffee, walking by his cabin window which now echoed the quiet pitter patter of rain from outside as it grew louder.

\- - - - - 

It was another chilly day in Ireland as Jack wandered down the long side road leading from his cabin to the small town he lived next to, stroking the horse that stood in the pen near his house and taking the usual short cut through the woods as he went. 

In the time span of about two hours he went to do the weekly shop, he ran into a few fans and had time to check his P.O box, returning back to his cabin with a few small parcels in hand along with shopping as he maneuvered though the thick leaves crunching and bunching together at his feet on the forest path.

As he lumbered up to his cabin door and pulled his keys from his jacket he rose an eyebrow and snatched the scrap of paper that was pinned to the wood of his door.

"What the?" 'Welcome to a new world.' the note read in scrawled, messy letters. This was defiantly a crazy fan he instantly thought but as he was about to head inside his home quick footsteps and a dark laugh stopped him. Jack only had mere seconds to turn and register the cricket bat raised and aimed towards him before it made contact with him and everything went black.

\- - - - - 

"-ack! JACK! Fucking- SEAN!" Jacks eyes quickly opened and with a startled gasp it didn't take long for him to realize that he was falling. Another thing was that he wasn't alone in this void of darkness that surrounded him, obvious by the high pitched screams and swears from above. The voice that he had laughed and joked with so many times was instantly familiar.

"Mark?! The hell you doing?!" Jack yelled as the other man just let out a garbled response that he didn't even try to make out as words. 

The sense of weightlessness quickly consumed him as panic took over his mind, he was going to fall to his death, so was Mark if something drastic didn't happen. How did he even get here? How did Mark? Where was 'here'? As he racked his brain for answers but came up empty he felt a breeze whip up from below him and he looked down.

"OH GOD!" He screamed as his body hit the ground below him hard, the air rushed out of him as Jack laid there motionless and confused for what seemed like forever until his friend's loud obnoxious cries got louder and louder as said man's body collided with his own and they were both sent rolling across the dirty forest floor in a heap together until Mark's back hit the stump of a tree, only slightly cushioning Jack as he felt the world fade around him again, dragging him into the darkness with many questions on his mind.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look. Another chapter! Yay~
> 
> ONE CHAPTER every SATURDAY if there are no problems. So subscribe to get notified and all that good stuff.
> 
> With that,
> 
> Enjoy this part.

Mark was quick to come to his senses as he sat bolt upright and instantly slumped back due to the violent pounding behind his eyes and temple. He shifted awkwardly as he looked down to see Jack, unconscious on top on him, his eyes widened as he saw the blood staining the man's hair.

"Hey, Jack?" He asked quietly as he moved Jack to lay on the ground beside him, the man stayed unresponsive as Mark grew more and more worried by their situation. He took a look around him as he scratched the back of his head, hissing in pain as he looked over his beat up and aching self.

"Where the hell are we?" He muttered to himself, he tried to shake Jack a few more times as he groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to leave Jack but he had to go find some kind of help. Anyone. But so far it seemed to only be them surrounded by the endless cage of towering trees and seemly more endless canopy of dead leaves.

"Damn it." Mark rose on shaking legs as he lent against a tree to try and get his bearings, dusk was noticeably settling in and he had no idea what he was going to do. The temperature was dropping into minus numbers and Mark wished, like Jack, that he'd worn a jacket or sweater of some kind to stop the chills creeping up his spine.

The American suddenly picked up a low murmur emitting from the trees around him. People? He rose and stood a little taller as he looked around, he was tempted to call out but before he'd even opened his mouth he was suddenly grabbed and pulled off his feet. His first instinct was to scream for help but the person holding him was one step ahead and held a musky cloth to his mouth. More people stepped out of the shadows, a masked man looked between Mark and Jack.

"Not him. The other one." Mark's eyes widened as he thrashed around even more. Two other masked figures grabbed Jack under his arms and lifted him somewhat to his feet, as Mark let out a muffled cry.

"He shouldn't be here, not yet. Not with him." The masked man spoke once more, pointing a crooked hand towards Mark as the person holding him suddenly threw him to the floor, as soon as Mark could talk again the first thing he did was yell.

"What the fuck?! What are you going to do with Jack?!" He cried as the four men surrounding him shared a look before one of the figures holding his friend spoke.

"You don't need to know. For now." The man previously holding Mark back, now standing above him as he laid on the ground pulled a gun from underneath his cloak. His eyes widened as he faced the barrel of the gun, a single bead of sweat making its way down his forehead.

"Get running, Mr.Iplier." The one holding the gun spoke as Mark jerked out of shock as the gun fired beside him. He instantly scrambled to his feet with his right ear ringing and started to run, more shots firing and going past him. These people weren't trying to kill him, they wanted him out of the way, and he was doing just that. Gritting his teeth as tears welled in his eyes he headed further into the forest, unknowing of where he was even headed.

"Jack... I'm sorry."

~~~~~~~~~

The world around him blurred as Jack woke up, unsure of where he was or how he'd gotten to laying in a bed in the recognizably white room of a hospital, or something of the sort at least. Aches and pains covered his body as he slowly rose a hand to press against the bandages wrapped around his forehead.

"Shit..." He muttered quietly as he tried to sit up slowly.

"We don't allow such language in our hospital Mr. Mcloughlin." Jack jumped slightly as he locked eyes with the nurse that had just walked into the room, she first glanced at her clip board before looking up at the man and smiling.

"How are you feeling?" She asked in an all too bitter sweet voice, but Jack was none the wiser as he nervously nodded.

"I'm fine...a little achy." The woman nodded and wrote something down, Jack was slightly hesitant to talk but spoke anyway.

"Do you know how I got here?" He asked as the nurse looked to be in thought for a second before replying.

"You were brought in after a car swerved and crashed into a local forest, that's all I know." Jack's eyebrows came together as he took this in, sure, he drove a car but something seemed off. He hardly ever drove it, living in the small town in Ireland everything was practically in walking distance. The nurse sat down by his bedside and pulled out a small vial of pills.

"Doctor's orders. Take one every three hours, take one in about an hour before you come down to lunch okay." Jack nodded once more as he took the glass bottle and rolled it in his palm as the woman got up to leave. Suddenly Mark came to mind as he quickly stopped the woman from leaving.

"Hey! Sorry but...did someone else get taken here with me? Um, Mark Fischbach?" Jack didn't notice the woman's eyes grow somewhat darker at the mention of his friend's name as she quickly covered her distaste with a sugar coated smile.

"No, I'm sorry, I wouldn't know. I'll speak to the head doctor." With that she promptly left Jack to sit in silence, second questioning everything he'd just heard.

Did he really get into a car crash?

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Mark was sure he hadn't ran so fast or for so long in his life, he constantly felt like the masked figures were on his tail, even though the gun fire had long since stopped. He wasn't able to dodge all the bullets sent his way however as he hissed in pain, gripping his bleeding arm to try and stop the oily redness from oozing through his fingers. His breath collected in front of him in cold, ragged pants as he eventually stumbled and his legs buckled. Mark only just managed to catch himself by using his bad arm to steady himself against a tree, the pain shooting from that caused him to let out a loud cry.

"S-Son of a bitch!" He yelled out into the darkness that shrouded the forest around him. He was cold, in pain and very, very confused. But most of all, he felt guilty. He'd turned tail and ran from one of his best friends when he couldn't even protect himself. For all Mark knew, Jack could be being tortured or worse, and it would be all Mark's fault.

As tears streamed down Mark's face he let out a broken scream as he felt an arm wrap around his neck and shoulders. Oh God. The masked men came back. They were here to finish him off. Mark's mind ran at a thousand miles an hour with panic as the stranger's overly calm voice filled his ears.

"I want to help but I need you to be quiet."


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy! New chapter. :D
> 
> Enjoy.

The pill tasted bitter and metallic as Jack swallowed one of the red capsules, he couldn't help but cringe as he rose to his feet, stumbling slightly as he went. Right, now he needed to find the cafeteria. Maybe he should have asked the nurse for directions before she left because Jack soon found himself wandering the strangely empty halls of the hospital, no idea where he was headed. 

"Excuse me, Mister." Jack flinched slightly as he turned towards a small voice that must be addressing him. Small arms stuck out from a gap in a steel door. Curious, Jack moved closer towards it.

"Yes?" His voice wavered slightly as he talked.

"You can't trust the medicine giver...she wants to cut out your brain." Jack was even more confused than before as to where he was. This was a hospital, right? He found himself pressing to know more.

"What do you mean? Where am I?"

"You need to get back to your own reality, Mister. You don't belong here. Neither does the masked man and his followers, or the man and the girl with the dogs, or the man with the glasses. You're all going to die if you don't leave." The reply was almost instant and in the same, slow, ghostly drawl that had called him over. Soon Jack's endeavor for food was long forgotten and he just found himself talking to this child.

"What's your name?" Jack eventually asked in the quiet of the halls, to which was another faint reply.

"Sam, Mister."

"I'm Jack...but you can call me Sean." He muttered, sitting by the door. He knew he should get out of here by what this kid was saying but he was captivated, if everything he's been saying is true. Any other person would call him crazy for believing this child but there was a certain sincerity and pure worry in Sam's words that made Jack want to know more, but that quickly faded as a growl echoed down the hallway as the lights suddenly flickered and Jack scrambled to his feet. His eyes instantly focusing on the figure at the end of the hallway, wasn't the nurse he'd been with before. Her blonde hair was matted and dirty, her clothes ripped and her hands became claws covered in...Blood, along with the crooked grin and black eyes that were on her face Jack was put into a state of panic.

"She's here, Mister Sean. You need to run, now." He need to be told twice, casting one last look towards the child through the door he was off. Feet pounding against the floor, blood pumping though his veins, heart rushing to keep up with his movement Jack found himself running like he'd never ran before.

A crackled shriek erupted from behind him, it was the nurse, he wasn't going to be fast enough to out run her and he realized that but he kept on going. A cold sweat formed on his brow with fear as he went. Where was he? Why were things like this? What the hell was the nurse?! Suddenly he found as he ran the floor, the walls, the doors, everything was starting to crumble around him, having to quickly jump to another part of the floor as it gave way beneath him he was fast on his feet.

"I'm not letting you get away!" The nurse let out a violent cry as she swiped at Jack with one of her hooked, claw-like hands. He was just about able to dodge it as he stumbled slightly and kept running. The hallway before him just kept getting longer and longer, he was starting to think there wasn't an end until her saw a door at the end. It has to have been the exit but it was fading, fast.

The claws soon started swiping at Jack again, one long razor-like nail catching him on the cheek. Blood running warm down his face. He was so close, so, so close to that door, he just had to reach out. Jack's hand firmly gripped what was left of the door handle as he gave it a firm shove, but it wouldn't move.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." His eyes widened as he looked back at the nurse, she was getting closer, and he didn't have time to double back. What would he even 'double back' on? All that was left behind him was an inky blackness that he defiantly didn't want to venture back into.

"Fuck it! Come on!" He screamed as he practically ran into the faded out door as it screeched and eventually give way under him.

"Thank fuck for that!" He said to himself as he quickly scrambled though the exit and forced it shut behind him, leaning against it as the nurse banged on the steel of the door before it crumbled and faded away completely. Jack let out a sigh of relief as a cool breeze ran against him, he slowly lifted a hand to his cheek and hissed as he wiped away the blood running down to his chin.

"Where am I?" He asked aloud as he faced some kind of forest in front of him, however the only exit appeared to be a maze of hedges before that. Scratching the back of his head and shrugging he realized he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter in heading forward, not if he wanted to know how to get home.

~~~~~

Everything was merging together, everything was starting to look the same to Jack as he walked aimlessly in the maze of hedges, and eventually breaking out into a run as he finally lost his patience. As he did so he swore the maze was 'changing' around him, every time he'd look back behind him he'd meet a wall of green and have no choice but to go forward.

"Fuck this piece of shit maze." Jack muttered to himself angrily as he walked. His feet were starting to hurt, he had a headache, he just wanted to go home and record a stupid video where there was way too much yelling and swearing and grinning on his part. Then things went from bad to worse as Jack noticed a blackened figure moving its way around the paths, dead eyes and all. From past experience, like thirty minutes ago, Jack knew better then to approach the being, yet with that in mind how hard would it be for him to go undetected? In the end Jack knew he didn't really have a choice in the matter as he slowed his footsteps and crouched around the corner of a hedge.

"How am I going to do this?" He whispered to himself as he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet, that's when he heard a little shuffle from the bush beside him causing him to jump slightly and look over at the small white creature that had emerged from the leafy depths. It was about the size of Jack's palm and oddly had no arms, just two eyes, a mouth, two legs and a single swirl of hair on its head.

"The hell are you? Too cute to be a demon...You do remind me of someone though." Jack tailed off as said creature made a quiet noise, as if to tell him to follow it. However suspicious Jack was of this...'thing' he couldn't really think of a better plan as he nodded to the creature and it began to rather clumsily walk in the way Jack presumed the exit to be.

Jack was soon then reduced onto crawling on his hands and knees beside the thing as he doubted the creature had realized Jack was a lot bigger than it and that caused him to be more noticeable to the black figures they'd snuck past, even then the creature still kept a happy grin on its face and lead them both towards the exit. Even having the audacity to perform a small dance, or more so a happy stumble which made Jack grin a little once they'd gotten out of the maze.

"Thanks for helping be out, buddy." He thanked the creature and patted it on the head as it nodded and started to walk on wards.

"Wait. You leaving me now?!" Jack yelled as the creature just let out a small laugh and leapt into another mass of bushes, seemly vanishing. Mumbling a quiet 'Fine, suit yourself.' Jack began walking again, that's all he ever seemed to do really. Walk. Walk. Run. More walking. He really could use a break but for some reason he felt like he couldn't let up. Not here. Not now, when he knew so little about his surroundings. As Jack eventually managed to reach a break in the path he almost felt like crying at the person across the clearing.

"Felix!" He practically screamed as he broke out into a run, wrapping his arms instantly around him. However the other just stood stock still with confused eyes as he slowly brought his arms up, not to hug the other, but to push him back, causing Jack to stumble onto the floor.

"Who the hell are you?" That's when Jack heart sank and he registered the loud growls of two dogs behind him...but they weren't dogs, they were wolves. One pitch black one, another tan, missing an eye.


	4. Chapter Three

"Maya? Edger?" Jack's lower lip trembled slightly as the two animals looked down at him like a piece of meat as he sat helpless on the ground. He cast a pleading look towards Felix who seemed to be looking in a state of confusion, it looked like he'd been out here for a while. His hair was windswept and dirty, his clothes were an even poorer sight and he was covered in small scratches.

"Please say you know who I am, Felix." Jack said as the taller man merely shook his head as the wolves growls got louder and Edger suddenly went for Jack causing him to scream and shut his eyes. However the teeth never bit down, no paws trampled him as he slowly looked up to see Felix holding his pets back with one hand, the other outstretched towards him.

"I don't know who you are but I do know what it's like out here. I wouldn't let Edger or Maya hurt you, don't worry, they're not like the demons." Jack took his hand as Felix helped him to his feet. 'But you do know me.' Jack thought as he looked towards the two wolves who were now looking out into the darkness of the forest, as if surveying it.

"I suppose you wound up here too?" Jack asked as he took a spot on a fallen log, finally able to rest and actually take in the situation at hand, as well as his surroundings.

"If you mean I'm not from around here, yeah. I actually have no idea where we are, I'm from Brighton for crying out loud!" He threw his arms up into the air and let out a weak chuckle as he looked towards Jack.

"You're from Ireland?"

"Born and bred, baby." He laughed as the two continued to talk about back home, when Felix brought up that he was PewDiePie Jack was sure bringing up his own channel would jog the man into remembering him and all they videos they'd made but all he did was remember that he'd given Jack a shout out way back when. He didn't know anything but that, nothing about the videos, it's like their friendship never existed.

"Hey, I was wondering if you've seen anyone around here. I'm looking for my friend." Jack asked as he sat, petting Edger and Maya as they sat by him.

"What's he look like?" Felix asked as Jack then described Mark's features.

"I might have seen someone like that, I saw them getting dragged through the forest with someone else. About two hours ago I'd say. They were in a rush too." Pewds spoke as Jack's heart lifted a little, he hadn't somehow lead Mark to his death, there was still a chance he could find him in this chaos. However, like Felix, would Mark even know who he was? Would he be the only person to remember his past life? Were there other YouTubers like him in this world? Was he the only one who knew the truth?

"Look, I know you just met me," Jack bit his tongue on the lie as he spoke. "But would you mind helping me look for my friend? Safety in numbers and all that. I just...really don't want to be alone here." Felix nodded in understanding as he stood up and went over to pet the two wolves staring further into the depth of the forest around them.

"I'm actually looking for someone too..." He muttered. Jack knew this of course, he'd never go anywhere without confirmation of Marzia's safety. Guess she was here as well then.

"We can look together." Jack grinned as he jumped up with a spring in his step. Felix nodded as he called the wolves over and swung a dirty old rucksack onto his shoulders.

This was going to be a long walk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I want to help but I need you to be quiet, Mark." 

"Let go of me!" Mark yelled as he struggled against the arms holding him back, the man behind him let out a low curse as he flipped Mark around and pushed him roughly against the trunk of a tree.

"I....We don't have time to do this, Mark." Said man's eyes widened as he met the blue eyes of a man he'd almost recognize anywhere, a mask almost covered his face, shattered on one half and stained with blood, Mark had never seen Cry's face before but he knew it was him.

"C-Cry?" The man nodded and released his grip on Mark's shoulders, Mark slumping slightly against the tree he'd been held up against as he let out a relieved sigh.

"I thought you were going to kill me." He laughed weakly as the brunette cast him a side glace before shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets and looking up at the sky, which by now was painted pitch black by the night, clouded and unclear as chalk on a canvas.

"Many things here would have. You're lucky I found you when I did." 'So Cry had been dragged into this place too.' Mark thought as he stared at his friend, but for some reason he looked like he'd been here a lot longer than Mark or Jack.

"Jack!" Mark suddenly yelled as he sprung up on his heels, however he was instantly stopped by the other man's hand.

"I know, but we can't help him, not yet, not personally."

"Why not?!" Mark cried as Cry firmly grabbed him by the arm and started to pull him further into the forest with him.

"Because there are still things you don't understand. And not understanding them gets you killed." Mark fell quiet as he stumbled behind the taller man, was this really all he could do for now? For Jack? It made him feel useless as all hell but Cry was right. He really knew nothing of this strange place or the beings that inhabit it, that was the cold truth. He knew nothing. Not yet.

Cry kept to his word however as they waked the span of the vast wilderness around them he explained how he ended up here, what the beings trying to kill them were (to his own knowledge) and who else had been dragged into this place (again, to his own knowledge) but Mark felt like there had been somehow many more than the other man either knew, or was mentioning.

"But there's one thing you have to know, Mark." He nodded as he listened closely to Cry who had now gone silent, as if picking his words carefully.

"Anyone who remembers, dies." Mark was about to speak up again but Cry cut him off.

"When the others and I got here, we knew nothing. Just our names, that's all, then we started remembering little things as we met up. Now we're fighting for our lives because we know too much. However, for some reason, you and Jack arrived here as if it was simply closing and opening your eyes again. You knew everything up to the point you left your reality." Cry paused. Swallowing slightly.

"Listen. You weren't meant to be like that and now you're in danger, we all are. Whoever sent us here fucked up with you and him. Now you've got that son-of-a-bitch scared and he wants you out as soon as possible. We need to take advantage of that. But know, that now you remember, those things will stop at nothing to try and kill you. Mark, you got that?" The raven nodded nervously, he hadn't realized that things here were so serious. But he knew Cry wouldn't lie about this, no matter how odd it sounded to his ears.


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not Saturday guys...I do own a calendar but I've practically finished the series (I have half a chapter left, the big 'end') so I've moved it to two chapters a week, Wednesday and Saturday. Since I break for Christmas tomorrow I'll be working on the last chapter and it'll all be tied in a nice bow for you guys.
> 
> Seasons greetings from England...have a good one. This chapter might start a bit 'intense'...  
> Enjoy :D

"You really don't know who I am..." Jack muttered to himself as he walked side by side with Felix in the darker growing forest, the man beside his perked up a little, not quite hearing Jack's words.

"Huh? You say something?" Jack merely shook his head and mumbled a quick 'Sorry.' as they continued their trek in the way Felix was sure he'd seen Mark get taken in, they made small talk along the way until Felix was cut off suddenly by Maya growling towards the darkness behind them.

"What is it Maya?" Felix asked quietly as her growls got louder and louder, by now Edger too had caught on and took a defensive position around the two you tubers. All too quickly an inhuman hand shot out from the forest towards the group. Felix was quick to scream as it aimed straight for the taller man. However, not reaching its goal as it instead wrapped it's darkness in Edger, who had jumped in front of his beloved master.

"Edger!" Felix shrieked but Jack was quick to react as he grabbed the other man's arm and started running.

"It's those demons, c'mon!" He yelled as Felix nodded calling Maya after him, the wolf keeping up the rear. Shots of darkness flew past Jack as he barely managed to avoid them, pulled the other man behind him as the two ran as fast as they could.

"Maya!" Jack heard Felix cry out once more as the other wolf had been engulfed by the darkness after them. However he didn't let up, he just kept his gaze forwards and made sure Felix was behind him as they went.

"We aren't gonna make it, man!" Felix cried as Jack cursed under his breath, his chest was getting tight, his legs burned with the stress and he was the only one who knew the truth.

"We are!" Jack screamed as he suddenly burst out into a clearing, it was a simple cliff face, however a well stood, bricks crumbling slightly in the middle of it all. Jack continue to swear as he realized that they had nowhere to go, nowhere to run.

"Shit. Shit. Shit!" The darkened figure was closing in as the ground around the two began to shake, Jack was then jerked out of his mid-panic attack by Felix grabbing his shoulder.

"Go." It was a simple word, but the meaning behind it made Jack instantly shake his head stubbornly.

"First off," Jack started. "Where would I go to? This is a dead end, dude. And second, I'm not going to leave you." They both grew quiet as a loud, feral like growl cut through the forest line in front of them.

"Jack. I know who you are now. I remember." Felix muttered as he looked down at the ground.

"That's more the reason for you to come with me!" Jack argued but Felix suddenly shoved Jack backwards towards the well.

"Jump for it. Get away from here." Jack was about to fight more but Felix was knocked off of his feet by a bullet of darkness cutting through the air.

"Find Marzia, please!" Felix yelled as Jack nodded, tears in his eyes as he once again broke out into a sprint that he'd never ran so fast for, the ground shook even more, the sky suddenly growing red, dripping red, raining blood. Before Jack knew what was happening, Felix's screams fell deaf to his ears as tears streamed down his face, mixing with the violently red blood being showered down onto him, it was warm and gross and he'd just about had enough.

"FUCK IT!" He screamed as he gripped the corner of the large wells mouth and swung his legs up, falling, unknowingly into the darkness beyond. To him, most likely to his death.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The rain had only just started, softly at first but changing to a violent downpour as Cry finally lead Mark to his hide out. It looked to be some kind of run down barn, barely standing and corroded, but it looked a lot safer than the forest he had just trekked though.

"This it?" He asked, already knowing the answer as the other man gave a stiff nod before knocking on the almost unhinged door twice and falling silent afterward. 

"Hello?" An oddly happy voice replied on the other end as Cry spoke up.

"It's me, Russ. I only managed to find Mark." The door was now open fully as Mark hesitantly took a step in after Cry. It was surprisingly large considering the building itself looked like it was about to collapse any day now. A few candles were scattered around to provide enough light to see, the people in the barn itself seemed more or less ordinary.

"Only, Mark? Gosh darn it!" Russ muttered as another man walked up to the three of them, he had black hair, just like Mark yet he was a lot skinnier with a small smile on his face.

"What's it like out there? Snake hasn't come back yet." Cry replied with a simple 'It's hell.' and the three of them broke into a conversation. Mark began to feel a little out of place as he just stood there, staring at a point in the ground until the man that had yet to introduce himself placed a hand onto Mark's shoulder.

"Sorry. Guess I haven't said hello. So, hello! The name's Scott." He smiled as Mark grinned back.

"Mark." As Cry and Russ broke off to talk about other things Scott (or rather known as Jund) was left with giving the newbie the grand tour of what he called 'the late night leppy shack'. He introduced a lot of the crew, people like Cheyenne, then Russ who he'd met briefly earlier and then started talking about Snake, a man who seemed to be out at the current time.

"Do you want anything to eat? I mean we have a lot. Snake's out on another run since he's paranoid about running out of shelled peanuts but...y'know." As Jund spoke the door suddenly flew open, a full on storm had started outside, the door rattling violently as a tall man stood in the door way. Almost instantly Mark saw everyone in the barn change. Jund had his hands held out in front of him, a strange light emitting from them. Cheyenne was no longer in her lounging position on the make shift sofa, but now gripping a knife in her left hand, book discarded on the floor. Russ had grabbed a hammer from a workbench on the side and Cry was now pointing a gun towards the figure at the door.

"I couldn't find shelled. We only have salted." The deep voice that filled the barn made everyone almost deflate as Jund yelled towards the taller man that was now shrugging off a jacket and trying to dry his hair with a rag.

"Snake, man! I told you, knock before you enter. We might seriously shoot you next time." The man, Snake, merely grunted and sat down onto the sofa beside Cheyenne, placing a rucksack onto the floor and pull out its contents.

"You got a lot." Cry spoke as everyone gathered about the sofas in the centre of the room, Cry, Russ and Jund on one while Mark, Cheyenne and Snake sat on the other.

"I found some more blankets, candles stuff like that." The man spoke as Mark wondered where he had got all these items. Cry spoke up again once everything was placed in what seemed to be in an organised manner.

"Snake. This is Mark. Markiplier." Cry pointed towards the new arrival as he gave a small smile, he sort of knew who these people were. Known as the 'Late Night Crew' they held a stream on Twitch every Saturday that was extremely popular, he'd watched it once or twice himself but only really knew Cry personally.

"Greetings." Snake said briefly with a nod.

"Did you see any signs of Jack?" Cry asked as Mark sat up a little straighter, he would believe anything right now just to know that his friend was alive. No matter what it was.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't find anyone in that storm. However, he definitely got out of that place alive." Mark presumed Snake was talking out the people Jack was first taken by when they first came to in this place. Cry stood up and began to pace in thought.

"He's going to have to get though that maze, won't he?" He asked as Snake gave a quiet nod. The brunette then shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out a small creature, it had the same mask that Cry partly wore with stumped legs. Better known as the sup guy.

"He'll need help." He muttered as he flipped the creature over and pulled back a part of its back, revealing a wind up screw that Cry gave a few turns of to bring the creature to live.

"You need to find Jack's time. Help him out of the maze." Cry ordered as he headed towards the door and opened it, the storm had now since passed as the creature made its way outside and disappeared into the forest, Mark didn't know what Cry exactly meant by 'Time' but in a world as twisted and strange as this, he thought it better not to ask.

"Now we wait." Cheyenne spoke as she dusted off the book she'd dropped and resumed her relaxed position on the sofa, flipping back to the page she was on to continue reading.


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50 kudos and almost 600 hits?! You guys rock and Grohl... (haha...puns)  
> Seriously thanks though.

Jack must have blacked out at some point during his fall down the well because he was surprised he even had anything to wake up too after the stunt he'd pulled. The warm bed and home like bedroom surely wasn't one of them, he was tucked beneath soft sheets and the room was full of familiar things, posters, books, video games, even the laptop on a desk in the corner. However he knew this wasn't his own home however, or room, or if this hadn't of been a dream, world. 

Kicking off the bed sheet Jack stood to his feet, locking eyes with himself in a mirror hanging on the back of a closed door. He was somewhat happy he wasn't covered in blood like he could last remember, but the uneasy question was, who cleaned him up?

The halls Jack walked were partly empty as he tried to keep as quiet as possible, his eyes however, drifted towards the many video game posters and decorations that covered the walls. Before long he stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of voices, but he wasn't instantly afraid like the other times. He knew these people, he'd met them before. Although, would they have any idea who he was? Flashes of Felix instantly came to Jack's mind as he shivered slightly.

"Arin?" Jack asked out loud with wide eyes as he saw said man sitting on a sofa with Dan. He turned towards Jack with a grin and waved.

"What's up, man? Have a good rest? Your flight was hella long." For some reason Jack instantly knew something was wrong, that stomach drop you get, those butterflies you get when you realize you've fucked up, that's what Jack was getting right now.

\---------

"Oh no." Jund muttered as he quickly rose to his feet and walked over to where the others were gathered eating. He quickly stood and caught everyone's attention.

"Guys, we have a problem." Cry was quick to respond as he jumped to his feet.

"What?" He asked.

"We lost Jack to the Grumps." Everyone except Mark groaned at those words, Cry even swearing as he stared at his feet.

"What do we do?" Russ spoke up from the sofa as Cry once again started pacing, he had a habit of doing that when he was in deep thought or stress, this seemed to be both, however Mark couldn't understand why the Grumps were such a bad thing.

"You mean the Game Grumps?" He asked slowly as he looked towards Russ who nodded, before he could ask what the problem was Cheyenne spoke up with the answer.

"They're all demons too. Just like Minx, Jack's going to die." Everyone fell silent, nobody knew what to say. Until the sound of a gun reloading cut the air as Cry slammed a new magazine into his gun.

"We just have to be quick then." The atmosphere around the group shifted as everyone moved into action, everyone except Mark as Cry stalked up to him.

"You know how to shoot a gun?" He asked with a stiff voice, in truth Mark didn't as he shook his head the other man just shrugged as looked around, grabbing an axe from the workbench on the side and handing it to Mark, making sure the man had a firm hold on the weapon.

"I doubted...then use this, good grip, quick swing, no hesitation. We don't have much time." Mark was undoubtedly confused as he tried to keep the same walking pace as Cry who was checking in on the other members of the Late Night Crew. Cheyenne was sorting through her knives, Jund was oddly reading a heavy looking book, mumbling things under his breath, Russ was preparing Molotov cocktails on a table along with smoke bombs and so on, while Snake was holding a nail riddled bat and adjusting his scarf.

"Are we just going to attack them?!" Mark Cried as the man beside him stopped dead and turned. 

"That's the plan."

~ ~ ~ ~

"How was the trip from Ireland?" Dan asked as Jack awkwardly sat himself in between Arin and the other man. He couldn't remember any trip. Even if the whole demon world had been a dream he was never planning to visit LA any time soon. That's what made the demon world even more believable. He faked a grin as he shrugged.

"As well as any long-ass flight can go." He spoke with a strained voice he was hoping the two didn't catch on to. However he couldn't help but flinch when Arin brought a hand to his shoulder, gripping a little too hard for Jack's liking. The awkward contact soon dissolved as Barry and Kevin came laughing into the room, the bearded man smiling kindly towards Jack while the younger man addressed him with a simple 'Yo'. 

The hours passed slowly for Jack, 1 to 2 then stumbling into 3 and crawling over to 4 then finally falling into 5. Even though he was laughing and joking with the others, playing video games and eating pizza the tension still pulled at his brain, the nagging reminder of where he may be.

"...next time on Grumpcade, Jack tells us more tales of Ireland!" Arin laughed as Jack breathed a pathetic chuckle on the grump couch beside him. As Arin turned off the game and capture Jack helped him out, making small talk as they did so.

"Hey, ever think of moving to LA?" The brunette asked as Jack was oddly taken a-back by the question, he had thought about it before, true, but now he was actually being (what seemed to be) genuinely asked he didn't know the answer.

"Sometimes...Mark talks about it every so often, I don't think I could though." Jack replied after a short pause, Arin nodded in thought and slowly stood back up from his crouched position in turning off the console they had just played on. While he was doing so Jack used the excuse of coffee to get out of the room, not missing the subtle change in Arin's eyes as he did so, the same change that he'd also noticed with bringing up Mark. As he made his way into the kitchen, Jack defiantly knew he was still trapped in the same messed up universe as before, nothing had changed.

"Hey, Jack." A female voice greeted once Jack had reached the coffee machine on the corner counter of the kitchen. Jack cast a smile towards Suzy as she seemed to be on her DS sat at the table. While he figured out how the machine worked he failed to hear the woman stand up and walk up behind him, much less the door to the room open and close upon someone's arrival. He jerked slightly in surprise as Suzy placed a hand on his own, it's wasn't the move that scared him but instead the coldness of her hand, it felt like no warmth had coursed through them in a while, and her voice matched the same loss of warmth as well.

"S-Suzy?" Jack asked, his voice failing him and breaking at the last syllable of her name. She let out a hum between closed lips as Jack slowly turned around, now stuck between the woman and the counter edge, digging painfully into his lower back as he tried to edge away. He then froze completely, wide eyed like a deer in head lights as he locked gazes with both Arin and Danny leaning on the table behind her. Their eyes however, weren't normal, not in the slightest, they were just hollow and black, mere pin-pricks of white to resemble pupils in the mass of darkness. The same was for Suzy as he looked towards her and swallowed nervously, his throat going dry and lower lip trembling.

"W-what's wrong with you guys?" He breathed quietly, already knowing the answer as Suzy let out a chuckle, her lips growing closer to his, by now he'd noticed her teeth had become fangs, sharp and pointed and more than likely painful.

"You're cute when you're scared." She stated as Arin snorted behind her and Dan smirked.

"Don't forget who your husband is, Suze." The brunette spoke as a smile crossed the woman's lips.

"Of course not, sweetie." Jack's eyes darted around for any sort of escape as Suzy let out an animalistic hiss as she went to seemingly bite him. Jack was quick to cry out and try to shove her away, however still waiting for the bite to arrive. But it didn't, nothing happened at all, time froze, Suzy's face contorted into one of pain as the smashing of glass and a gunshot rang loud in the room. Arin and Dan turned sharply towards the door as Suzy's body hit the floor with a sickening thud, a bullet firmly lodged in her skull.

"What the fuck?!" Arin screamed as Jack eyes widened at the interruption.

The Late Night Crew to be exact.


	7. Chapter Six

Everything happened so quickly, bullets flew across the room, punches were thrown and profanities yelled. Jack couldn't quite keep track as he met a familiar and well welcomed face.

"Mark?" He asked as the other man grinned widely and enveloped him in a hug.

"We need to get out of here! Cry and the others have got this!" Mark yelled over all the noise as he grabbed Jack's hand firmly and weaved his way through the chaos, everything was so loud, blood was everywhere. Jack just wished to be back at home right now, but maybe he was, maybe finding Mark was that one step closer to getting back to their own world.

\- - - - -

"Cry, Jund! C'mon, we need to get out of here!" Russ yelled as he threw another smoke bomb towards the already burning building, the fight had been going on for too long. Cheyenne, Russ and Snake had managed to get out with Jack and Mark into the forest around them. However the two others had yet to emerge from the smoke and flames.

"We can't wait." Snake spoke quietly as he placed a hand on the other man's shoulders. It'd been over ten minutes and everyone knew he was right. Before long real demons would catch on to the fight and come to check it out, and once the group was swarmed there'd be no hope for any of them to get out alive.

"They'll find their way back." Jack said to the roughed up group as nods were made and nervous glances shared. Everyone was okay, bruises, cuts and scrapes mostly. What you'd kind of expect when going up against the supernatural, but now the worst thing was that everyone just had to wait. Wait for their leader and friend to return.

\- - - -

Cry was slammed painfully into the wall behind him, his back making contact in the most uncomfortable way as Dan had an almost vice like grip on his throat. Cry dug his nails into the taller man's forearm but it seemed to have made no difference to the demon.

"That's it...let go, die." Dan whispered darkly as Cry struggled against him, his mask cracking a little more as he did, and that's when he felt the pounding in the back on his head, he heard the voice he knew all too well. The demon inside him, fighting to get out.

'Let me at him, man. He'll be dead within the minute.' It spoke in the darkest corners of his mind. He only shook his head and tried to find some way out of this situation. The building was going up in smoke and breathing only got harder from this point and before long Cry's throat closed up, he's complexion paled and his eyes changed, his hollow pupils locking with Dan's.

"What the hell?!" Dan cried as he instantly released Cry and moved away from him. Said man just slumped to the ground, falling like a sack of potatoes, he started breathing heavy as he held his head in his hands.

"Get out..." Cry muttered so quietly that Dan almost missed it. "Get out. Leave me alone. I don't need you!" Cry struggled to stand to his feet. Using the wall for support as he stared Danny down, his eyes switching between colours. Where his left eye was normal, covered by one half of his mask, the other was a deep black with nothing by a white dot to show a pupil.

"You're...one of us?" Dan asked with caution as he looked the man up and down.

"No." Cry's voice was flat and firm as he spoke. "No. I'll never be one of you. I - We are getting out of here." The other demon smirked as he let out a laugh at the words, the flames licking the world around them, the heat nagging at Cry's skin making it an angry red colour, covered with ash.

"You really think you can leave in the state you're in, this burning building let alone this world?!" He laughed a little more and a little louder as Cry's eyes flickered around nervously as he finally , his throat dry with the atmosphere around him.

"You're stuck between mad and insane, Cry! You're one of-" Dan's words were cut short with a choke of blood and widened eyes as a beam of light shot through his chest, the beam crackling and turning into ice which, giving the circumstances, was already starting the melt and mix with the blood around him as Dan's eyes changed, fangs retracted and he fell forward.

"Cry." Said man looked up to the name and met gazes with Jund, the man's hands dropped to his side as he ran towards the other, just managing to catch the masked man before he hit the floor, wrapping an arm around him as the two made their way from the building.

"You and your fucking magic." Cry chuckled as the two stumbled through the forest. Jund laughed quietly alongside him with a nod.

\- - - - - 

"Damn it! This is all wrong." A man yelled at his desk, slamming his fist down against the table as he saw the flaming building in the distance through his window. The curls of smoke rose up into the air and covered the surrounding forests in an ashy smog.

"Don't be too sad about it sweetie." A certain demon spoke, bounding happily into the room that the unhappy man was currently in. Said man turned towards her sharply.

"Too sad? They're still alive! One of them is magic, they're rejecting and all the puppets are broken." He held his head in his hands and the woman laughed, her ears twitching and tail swishing as she did.

"Jesse, seriously it's no big deal. We have an entire army to our disposal, we'll own this place soon enough." Dodger spoke as she hugged Jesse and laughed.

"How about we play some video games?"


	8. Chapter Seven

"Here." Jack muttered as he handed Mark a cup of instant coffee, he took a sip of his own and sat next to the other man as he cringed at the bitterness of the drink but the warmth was still welcome.

"Where the hell do you think we are?" Mark muttered quietly as Jack followed his gaze towards the Late Night Crew as they all sat together, well, missing Cry and Jund, which made things very quiet for them all. The Irishman just shrugged he didn't really have a real answer as he spoke the first thing he thought.

"The shittiest place ever." Mark let out a snort as he drunk his coffee. Suddenly a loud noise outside made everyone freeze, the only person to react was Snake as he grabbed the wired bat next to him. Then all at once the door fell open against the weight of someone falling into it, Cry to be exact as Jund stumbled in after him. They were both covered in blood and muck as Cheyenne and Russ were the first on their feet, followed by everyone else present.

"God!" She cried as she helped her boyfriend into a sitting position against the wall of the barn.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Russ asked as he helped Jund to his feet and patted the man on the shoulder slightly.

"There was so many of them..." Cry stuttered as he looked around at the others, his one visible eye widened and bruised. Jund then went on to explain what had happened the hour before and how they'd barely gotten back alive.

\- - - -

"Shit." Cry cursed as dankness crept in on the duo that were knelt down under the cover of foliage as they over looked the area around them, the area crawling with dead eyed and mindless figures. They stretched back as far as the eye could see and even if they found a way around the horde it would take too long. The cover of night was a dangerous one, so much that a single slip up would mean death, hands down.

"How is this going to work?" Jund muttered to himself as the masked man beside him began to come up with hundreds of possible get away plans in his mind. Each of which, in theory, failed or would cause one of them to be left behind, and that wasn't happening, not yet.

"I don't know." He spoke quietly in reply, eyes cast down at the mindless demons before him, some of them he unfortunately recognized as friends, mods for his Twitch, people he'd wished he could have saved from this cruel world's fate.

"Felix..." He muttered just quietly enough so Jund wouldn't hear him as his eyes locked onto one of the demons in the crowd, blackened eyes, battered skin and messy, blood matted blonde locks.

"I could freeze a few in ice but that wouldn't be enough. We'd get swarmed in no time." The magician thought aloud as he pulled a book from his bag and frantically start to flip through the pages. All the while Cry's mind was still racing, and still failing, until he suddenly stopped.

"We need to run." The other man stopped just like him, mouth open slightly.

"That's mad." His voice was quiet as Cry locked gazes with him.

"I have one mag left, that's six rounds. I'll give one bullet margin for error for us to carve a way through. You need to freeze as many around us on the move, I'll take out stragglers with the gun. If I fire we need to be quick because it'll only attract more." The man was quick with his words but Jund caught on to the plan.

"If I slow you down, leave me." Jund said as he snapped his book shut and shoved it into his pocket.

"Same here." Cry spoke as he reloaded and readied his gun. The two shared a quick glance, knowing that this may all turn to crap and one of them or even both of them may die but also the thought that if they didn't at least try to return to their friends they were dead men anyway.

\- - - -

"That must have been terrifying." Jack muttered as he listened in awe, much like everyone else as Jund spoke of what happened, gathered around the sofas in the barn. The man nodded as he bit into the last of his apple and stared at his trainers.

"I honest to god thought I was as good dead." He said quietly as everyone fell silent.

"Glad you made it back." Snake spoke as he patted the man on the back beside him, the group needed Jund and they all knew it. Somehow this world had given him a power, a power of the coldest douche as Russ had jokingly dubbed it. The son-of-bitch that sent them here didn't plan that either and as a result didn't even try to attack their base, both sides would most likely lose and they knew that as well.

"How are we going to get home?" Jack whined as he held his head in his hands, this world was starting to take its toll on him, the sleepless nights, the constant fear of death and just the unfathomable reality they were faced with.

"That..." Cry muttered, a blanket slung around his shoulders on his space on the sofa. "I don't know."

\- - - - 

Cry rubbed the palms of his hands over his eyes as he sat on look out on a hay bale near the door, his gun, now with ammo beside him. It was dark and cold as he wrapped his blanket a little tighter around him as his breath whipped up in front of him. He let his eyes drift to the others sleeping around him. Cheyenne took up the whole length on the big sofa, Russ was lent back, mouth wide open on the smaller cushioned chair. Jund was curled up on a futon mattress in the corner of the room, Snake was sleeping lent up against a wall, head slumped at an awkward angle Cry knew he would defiantly feel in the morning and Jack and Mark were sleeping together on the larger futon by the other stack of hay bales, Mark spread out and apparently snoring quietly to himself and Jack on his front hogging the blanket and hugging it under his head as a pillow.

The small smile on his face faded out and that's when Cry began to get the nagging headache in the back of his skull, the shaking of losing control in his hands and shoulders, and the voice laughing in his head wanting to be let out.

"No..." He whispered quietly in the darkness as he gripped his hair and curled himself up, his jaw was clenched; muscles strained and eyes shut. He didn't want 'him' to take control, not here, not now, not ever. He suddenly flinched as he felt a hand grab his shoulder, he let out a small cry as he looked up to see Snake standing over him, rubbing his neck with other hand and rolling his shoulder back slightly, apparently still half asleep.

"It's my shift." He muttered as Cry awkwardly nodded and got up from his chair, leaving the gun for his friend and stumbling slightly over the blankets laid down in a corner as he got onto the floor and tried to sleep. But in reality he just stared at the wall opposite him for the longest time.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The winter holidays are almost over...boo.

"Do you even remember how you got here?" Mark asked Jack as they sat together eating what was meant to be breakfast but was however an apple, water made coffee and a granola bar. The man opposite him just shrugged as he took a sip of his drink, still cringing slightly as did. He was never going to get used to that taste. 

"No, not really. I went out shopping...that's all I remember." Mark nodded as he took a bite out of his apple and gestured with it still in his hand as he spoke.

"I was recording Gmod with Bob and Wade and then I had a black out in my apartment...and evidently, blacked out myself." There was noise of the door to the barn swing open as Mark and Jack turned towards the two figures getting ready to leave, cutting their convocation short.

"Don't slow me down." Snake spoke to Russ as he nodded with a stupid grin on his face and swung a currently empty rucksack over his shoulders. Jack had found out that there was a small village a few hours trek down the hill that he stole from, it wasn't a village per say that people lived in. It was practically a military base for demons. Aside from the usual food run this time however the duo were working to bag the group some more fire arms, and that also meant ammo, hence Russ's help with the mission.

"Wouldn't dream of it." The shorter man chuckled sarcastically as he waved back to the group as the door swung shut behind them and they headed out into the wilderness.

"Stay safe..." Cry muttered from his spot on a random hay bale placed by a wall, he sipped his coffee slowly as he stared at his feet. Everyone fell a little quieter as Cheyenne glanced nervously at her boyfriend, she wasn't the only one to notice a change in Cry's mood. True, the man had always been quiet and liked to keep to himself more than he'd like to admit, going as far as to literally hide behind a mask but everyone had sensed that something had shifted within the man, and it only caused worry in the group.

Jack turned back towards Mark as he placed his make shift mug down on the somewhat standing table next to him and pulled out a deck of cards Snake had found on one of his raids.

"How about a game of 'go fish'?" He asked the American who only snorted a laugh in reply and grabbed the cards off of him and started to shuffle them hmself.

"Sure."

_ _ _ _ 

Not even two hours later the game of cards was abandoned and boredom quickly took over, Jack was sprawled across the larger sofa, eyes closed and humming some song he wished he could listen to right now. Mark was however still at the table mindlessly shuffling and re-shuffling the deck of cards in his hands, Jund was sitting on his futon with books laid around him as he read a revised their passages to tongue. Cheyenne was still reading her paper back on a cushioned chair as Cry walked around aimlessly, going out was a death trap but inside was just as deathly, mind-numbingly boring. 

"There has to be something better to do than just lay around!" Jack yelled into the silence as the others smirked, he was never one to keep still for long periods of time.

"How about I own your ass again at 'go fish'?" Mark snorted as Jack was quick to flip him off at the remark.

"You wanna go?" Mark joked as Jack sprung to his feet, a similar grin on his face as he stalked up to the other man, once in front of him gave him a shove. Not enough to knock him over, just to get his point across.

"Course." But before the two could get into their more than comical fist fight a sharp sound rung though the air, along with the tell-tale sound of a mug left on a table shattering, it's lukewarm, forgotten content spilled onto the floor. 

"Shit. Get down!" Cry yelled as all at once more bullets cut through the old barn's walls. Mark quickly wrapped an arm around the Irishmen as the two took cover under the table, Jund quickly pressed himself against the floor and Cry and Cheyenne took cover behind one of the sofas.

"Snipers?" Jund called as the man quickly made his way over to the group’s leader.

"Not just 'snipers'." Cry re-spoke the word with a bitter tongue as the door to the barn was abruptly kicked in, soldiers with hollowed eyes and blank stares quickly filled up the room, opening fire onto the group. Cry was quick to fire back, getting in a few hits but not enough to do significant damage, especially to a demon.

"We have to get out of here, now!" Cheyenne yelled as Cry nodded.

"There's a back exit, it's our only shot." He said as the two ran across the span of the room, Jund, Mark and Jack quick to follow behind them. Cry looked back behind him, gun fire ringing loud in his ears, his hands started to shake as he balled them into fists to contain the spasms in his muscles. He knew he wasn't stable, he knew he wasn't sane right now, but that didn't matter, what he had to do now was lead the others to safety, his broken self on the other hand would come after. 

"Cry!" Jund yelled towards him, just quick enough for him to snap out of his daze, but not quick enough to avoid the bullet ripping through his shoulder blade. His face contorted in pain as the man’s body hit the floor, hard, the back of his head bashing into a crate as he fell. Cheyenne was quick to react as she grabbed one of his arms and flung it over her shoulder, attempting to lift his unconscious body. 

"Kick it open! We need to go!" She yelled, lifting up her boyfriend as Mark rammed his shoulder into the door, it quickly giving in under the force. Jund muttered a few incoherent words under his breath as shark shards of ice erupted from the ground around them, giving the group just enough cover and time to escape into the forest and lose the attackers.

"How is he?" Mark asked, once the five of them had deemed it safe enough to stop and take a break by a river bank. Jund was kneeling over Cry, applying ice he'd formed onto the bullet wound.

"Good news, the bullet went clean through. Bad news, it's a serious wound. We have to make sure it doesn't get infected." Mark nodded as he sat down on a log next to Jack and Cheyenne, the woman still reading her book, however it didn't go un-noticed the nervous twitches of her legs and hands, or the not too subtle glances towards Cry as she read. Abruptly, she snapped the book shut and jumped to her feet, catching everyone's attention.

"There's only one way we can do this..." She muttered to the three conscious people around her.

"If we want to get out of here. We have to act now." Jund then burst out into a short fit of laughter before speaking.

"You finally taking control, Chey?" He asked as a small smirk passed the woman's lips.

"Let's just keep moving, okay."

\- - - - 

"You're an actual moron." Snake muttered as he stared at Russ across him, the man grinning over the grenade launcher in his hands. The mission went rather smoothly as a whole, the odd bump along the way, without naming names. However, if Snake had been asked what the cause burns in his clothing of the mess of Russ's hair, he'd be quick to point a finger towards said man, who had almost gotten himself and Snake killed a handful of times in the span of two hours.

"You got your snacks, I got this moefoe. Little details don't matter." The man argued as Snake just huffed and shook his head. It took about an hour for the duo to make the journey back up the hill side and through the forest before they managed to get back to the barn. However they didn't get very close before Snake stopped Russ mid-stride.

"Quiet." The man whispered as Russ crouched down beside him, the two just able to see the start of a fire in the building they'd reluctantly called home for the past month or two.

"An attack?" Russ asked as he caught sight of the demons wielding guns and machetes patrolling the surrounding area. Snake nodded as he took Russ's arm and lead him away, instead towards the small white creature huddling in a bush nearby.

"They got out." Snake spoke as he poked the small creature to get its attention, the 'sup guy immediately recognizing the man's face and stumbling into his hands as Snake then placed the creature into his pocket.

"But where have they gone?" Russ scratched the back of his head as he looked towards the building that had now gone up in flames, the ice from Jund's magic only just starting to melt under the heat.

"I know. Follow me. And don't be stupid." He whispered harshly to the other man who just nodded and held his new found weapon a little tighter.


	10. Chapter Nine

"It's only a little longer now." Cheyenne spoke as the group walked along a ruddy make-shift path that cut through the forest around them. Mark threw his shoulder up a little as he and Jund carried Cry along the way, Chey and Jack were in front with the Irishman on look out and Cheyenne leading the way to wherever they were headed.

"Where are we even going?" Jack asked as he lowered his gaze and looked back towards the group instead of out into the forest around them.

"We need to go see the huntsman and Hood. That's the only save place for us now." Jund replied as Cheyenne nodded in agreement. This however just made Jack, along with Mark look even more confused.

"What? Are we giving people code names and shit now?!" Jack yelled as Jund and Cheyenne broke out into a short fit of laughter, the man almost dropping Cry if not for Mark's quick reaction in catching him again.

"I guess we are. You'll know who they are when we get there." Jund spoke as Mark and Jack shared a brief look of more confusion before the American just shrugged and broke gazes with the other.

\- - - - - 

"Don't tell me you're the 'huntsman'?!" Jack blurted out loud as soon as the man in question came into his view, said man turned and greeted everyone with a grin.

"Hey, guys!" Ken smiled widely as he enveloped Cheyenne into a bear hug, as well as Jack before his eyes settled into Cry's body.

"He alright?" The man questioned as his girlfriend just shrugged nonchalantly and walked past the man and into the log cabin that stood before them, appearing to be in way better shape than the Late Nights burned down barn that was probably, by now, literally ash. After a brief pause Ken walked up to Mark and Jund to help get Cry into the cabin without dropping him.

The inside of the cabin was warm and cosy to Mark, a fire was working away at burning logs in the fire place. There was a small sofa with an adjoining chair in what looked to be a sitting room, a furry rug placed on the wooded floor as well beside them. There was a hunting rifle hanging from a hook on a wall by the door, along with a huge winter coat, a smaller white coat and a few sets of boots, both male and female. Then there was a few other doors leading to different rooms that Mark couldn't see on first glance, however this small cabin filled him with the first sense of safety he'd felt since arriving in this place.

"Sit down, have a drink or something. We have hot chocolate." Jack was quick to say yes to the beverage in question as Mark chuckled and just asked for water instead. Everyone was starting to settle down after what had just happened, Ken and Jund talked in the living room, Cheyenne and Marzia, who was also there sat in the kitchen, Cry was still unconscious in one of the bedrooms, Mark searched through the huge book shelves for something to read and Jack just sat cross legged on the floor by the fire with his drink.

"It's been almost two weeks, I'm losing hope of finding him." Jack stirred from his zoned out state as he caught onto a convocation Jund and Ken were having. That's when it came to him who they were talking about as he swallowed the sudden nervous lump in his throat.

"Felix?" Jack asked quietly as Ken and Jund fell silent, Jack instantly looking down to stare at the rug beneath him.

"Do you where he is?" Ken asked. "Is he alive?" The man muttered although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer in the way Jack's chest fell, eyes refused to meet his and the slumped shoulders he was met by.

"He..." The Irishman started, swallowing once more. "He saved my life, but he didn't remember anything at first." Ken nodded as he rubbed his beard slightly and let out a heavy sigh.

"We got split up by the demons, I yelled 'Go left, left!' Moron went right." He chuckled weakly as Jund patted him on the shoulder in sympathy.

"We've all lost people here, man. I mean, we don't know where Snake or Russ are right now."

"What am I going to tell Marzia?" Ken muttered out loud as there was a cough from behind the sofa, Jack expression grew dimmer for he could already see the woman as Jund and Ken turned to look.

"What are you going to tell me?" Marzia asked as all three men looked at each other, Ken eventually deciding to call everyone together to talk about this matter, it only took a matter of seconds to get everyone- minus Cry- in the small cabin living room together.

"-I'm so sorry, Marzia." Jack spoke, tears in his eyes as he spoke to the Italian woman, he wiped his tears on his sleeves as Mark hugged him around the shoulders. "I could've…should’ve done more then run away." He scolded himself as Marzia shook her head.

"No." She sad simply as everyone looked towards her. “It’s those damn demons, by now you'd think we'd found a way out." She muttered as the sound of a door swinging open loudly filled the silent cabin as Cry stood leaning against the door frame of the bedroom.

"We can get out here. Out of this fucked up place." He spoke as everyone turned towards him.

"There must be." Cheyenne spoke from her space on the chair.

"But-" Jack spoke, cutting her off slightly. "Where is here?" Everyone shared a look as Cry walked, stumbling ever so slightly over to the group and collapsing into a free space on the sofa with a sigh.

"The easiest way I can explain this place is...someone's trapped us in a story, and they can make this story anything. They write the passages, they make us who we are here, they make what happens, happen." Mark was about to cut Cry off with a question but the man kept on talking.

"But, you ask-" Gesturing towards Mark. "How come we've survived this long when this person clearly wants us dead? Simple. It'd be too boring. Too boring to just stop at the first obstacle and quit. However, there is also our own free will that saves us. We can choose what's going to happen, of course we can. This person can write and write and write what he wants to happen but in the end-" Cry paused slightly. Letting his words sink in. "Nothing is set in stone." Mark broke the silence that followed with another question. 

"Do we know who's doing this?" Mark asked as he looked towards the others in the room for an answer. When his eyes landing on Cry the man was staring down at the ground, fists balled up at his sides.

"We do." He stated simply as Mark was now even more confused, as was Jack, them both being out of the loop as to what had been going on here for what seemed to be long before they ever got trapped in this world.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't almost forget to post today's chapter...shut up.  
> (Fallout 4 just doesn't let go...)

"It's the only place we'll be able to find an answer to all this." Ken spoke as everyone in the room looked around at each other. Jund slumped a little in his seat before he replied.

"Those that go to the Polaris-zone don't return, you know that." He said as Mark spoke up again.

"Polaris?! They're doing this?!" He blurted out as Cry nodded in confirmation, the atmosphere of the whole room deflated at the name, the room itself growing cold despite the fire crackling away in front of them. A few knocks at the door echoed through the room as everyone froze, eyes shifted slightly as Cry slowly stood back to his feet to go and check it out.

"Demon's wouldn't knock right?" Jack spoke as he took a sip of his hot chocolate.

\----

"You sure it's this way, man." Russ asked as he followed the taller man in front of him through the rough bramble and foliage around them. Snake just nodded as he walked, bringing a finger to his lips as if to tell Russ to 'shut up' before pointing through a gap in the trees. Russ than looked towards the cluster of shambling bodies mere meters away from him, his was surprised they'd be this far out, the fire was really bringing a lot of them in.

They both eventually made it through to a small quiet clearing, a lone cabin placed in the shadows of a tree canopy. The lights were on and signs of people inside as Snake stood up a little straighter and signaled Russ to follow him to the cabin door.

\----

As Cry went to open the door cautiously all worry was immediately lifted at the two recognizable faces on the porch. Russ waved towards the others as Cry let them step inside, Snake shrugging off the back pack and handing it to the other man as he walked.

"We saw what happened." Snake spoke as he went to sit down next to Ken on the sofa. Russ lent on a nearby wall and Cry stood in the door way.

"They got the jump on us." Cry stated bitterly as Jund huffed a sigh, a silence followed once more as Marzia then stopped leaning on the mantel and stood a little straighter.

"Now we're all together should we start making a plan as to how the hell we're going to get out of here?" She spoke with as much confidence as she could muster as the others looked towards her. The first to walk forward was Cry, mumbling a 'What the hell...' under his breath, then Cheyenne saying she had to protect her idiot boyfriend until everyone except Snake had all stood up in agreement.

"Look," Snake spoke, for the first time a small break in his voice as he tried not to let a laugh slip. 

"I'm with you, but you all look like idiots just standing in a circle." Russ grinned and grabbed the man's arm dragging him to his feet.

"It's a symbolism, dude."

"Of what?" He asked as Russ just shrugged.

"Don’t know. A 'fuck it' adjustment?"

They talked for ages, various situations and plans were proposed by different people, mainly Cry and the late night crew for they seemed to have been here the longest and knew the most about this place. Jack and Mark really just sat and listened while people talked, occasionally slipping into the kitchen to grab some food or drink.   
Eventually everyone decided to take a break and pick things up in the morning as sleeping arrangements were made within the group. Soon everyone split up and the cabin fell silent, no lights, no sound, nothing but the crackling of the fire in its place. 

\-----

Jack was awoken by someone shaking him ever so slightly from his place on the pull out sofa, as he opened his eyes and was about to tell whoever it was to 'fuck off.' he met Mark's eyes and with that remembered where exactly he was.

"Morning." Mark spoke as Jack sat up and took the mug of coffee from the American's hands, mumbling a quick 'thanks.' as he did. Everyone was already up it seemed as Jack tiredly rubbed his eyes, he never got up this early, whatever time it was. Not like time in this reality was a relevant thing or anything, it was all just day and night to him.

"Today's the day?" The Irishman asked as Mark nodded, drinking his own coffee as they talked, everyone seemed so calm, it all just looked like a group of friends on holiday in the woods, not like they'd soon be fighting for their lives.

"Marzia wants to go through the plan once more, now Jack's awake." Jund popped his head around the door frame as he addressed the two only other people in the room. As Jack shifted and sorted out the wrinkles in his clothes he followed Mark into the main bedroom where everybody else was gathered, either sitting or standing with a large hand drawn map rolled out flat on the bed. Marzia was sitting on the edge using shoes and all sorts the hold down the paper.

"Everyone here?" Marzia asked as there was a collecting 'yes' amidst the group. She then clapped and started talking about the main plan to get back home.

"Thanks to the map Snake had scouted and drawn we have a rough view of the forests around here and the Polaris castle, although they don't go that far." Snake muttered a 'Sorry.' saying that even he going there would be more or less suicide.

"Anyway, if these are as accurate as I hope we can split up into group to storm the castle, that being Ken and Cheyenne being the frontal attack as the sharpest shooters and the hardest hitters. Jack, Mark and Jund will follow up as back up, Jund's magic should however be the first thing to hit them after the door gets blown in.   
Then Cry and Snake go around the side to try and find the portal while we mess things up and Russ and I will be look outs so if any demons turn up we'll handle them." Marzia breathed a sigh once she'd finished.

"Questions?" She asked, but when no one spoke up she simply smiled and stood up.

"Good." She said as everyone in the room eventually dispersed, Cry heading straight to the porch to get some air, his hands shaking once more, he knew he couldn't hang on for much longer.

"Hey, Snake?" Russ asked as the man stopped mid-stride about the leave the room.

"Yeah."

"Does Cry seem okay to you?" Snake paused as looked out of the cabin window, he could just about see the masked man as he lent on the fence, staring off into nowhere.

"I don't know." Was all Snake said before he turned and left the other man alone in the bedroom to roll up the map and worry over his friend.

\----

It must have been early evening as the group eventually set off into the forest together, ready to end this, ready to head home, but that would only be Mark's guess as he walked alongside Jack. As for weaponry the group was quite well off thanks to Russ and Snake, everything they'd had previously, gone up in smoke with the fire.

As for who had what, Mark had his pistol, Jack had a baseball bat, Cheyenne had a crow-bar and the second pistol, Jund had his magic, Russ had his grenades and flare gun, Cry had the third pistol, Snake had a nailed bat and a shot gun, Ken had semi-automatic while Marzia had Ken's hunting rifle.

"There it is!" Marzia spoke as everyone stopped to stare at the building in the distance, it defiantly looked intimidating even from the distance they were at. Slowly the group started to get smaller and the plan was being set in motion, the cogs to the grand scheme easing into motion. 

\------

"You guys need to quit messing around." Alex spoke as he stared towards his so called 'king' and the fox demon in the middle of a game of 'Mario Kart'. Brooke waved a hand dismissively as she cheered, seeming to have beaten Jesse once more. Alex's eyebrow twitched almost comically as he clenched his jaw.

"This is war damnit! Pay attention!" He yelled as the two fell silent and looked towards him, they were all well aware of what the late night crew was planning, however in terms of preparation, they had none.

"Jeez, calm down." Dodger laughed as Alex just frowned. "We have demons on our side, the supernatural! We've got thi-" As the woman spoke the whole room seemed to suddenly shake, a loud bang alongside it. As her gaze snapped towards him, Alex raised a mocking eyebrow as he pulled the gloves he was wearing off.

"Famous last words?" He said sarcastically as he strode out of the room, the last piece had been set, now it was just all out war.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this story is drawing to a close and I was so happy to have shared it with you. Just hit over 1000 hits which is amazing and I couldn't be happier, the next chapter is the big finale which will be the longest chapter of this series and then I'll write an epilogue and it'll all be tied up in a nice bow.
> 
> In short, thank you for reading guys, it means a lot.

Everyone slowly piled out of the bedroom of the cabin once Marzia had finished her little briefing of what was to go down later that day. For now most of the others had gone to try and find some way to relax as Jack walked out onto the porch to see Cry leaning against the fence with Cheyenne, Jack then decided to turn back, not wanting to disturb them as he ran into Mark.

"Hey." He spoke as the American smiled weakly.

"You nervous?" Mark immediately asked as the Irishman shrugged.

"Of course I am." Before the convocation could continue Ken walked through the rooms telling everyone to meet up in the front clearing to pick weapons. Jack would've been lying if he said the thought of fighting for real didn't make him the slightest bit uneasy. Suddenly there was loud bang and cry that startled practically everyone in the cabin. Mark was quick to head for the door and Jack was just as fast to follow.

"Jesus Christ, Cheyenne!" Cry yelled at his girlfriend who had almost blown him up with a rocket launcher, she would have as well if not for Jund who'd gotten between them and made a wall of solid ice, which due to the contact was slowly starting to crack.

"My hand slipped..." She muttered as everyone slowly started to settle back into training, Jack had decided to take on Snake in hand to hand combat, which may have been a bad choice on his part but at least he was learning something from the man. As the Irishman was put onto the his back for what seemed to be the 100th time Snake helped him to his feet and decided to take a break, Jack instantly going to go see Mark fail at shooting a gun.

"Keep your weight balanced, shoulders back, left foot forward." Russ instructed as the man did what he was told, as the American's eyes slowly drifted to Jack he tried not to laugh at the stupid faces the man was making.

"Fire when you're ready." Russ spoke as Mark tried to be somewhat serious while he pulled the trigger, still jerking back and screaming at the noise however as Jack burst out into a fit of giggles from his spot on a log. Mark simply flipped him off with a grin as Ken came over and sat next to the Irishman.

"Hey, Jack." He greeted as Jack tried to control his laughter, the man said 'Hey' as the two started convocation. Meanwhile Russ and Marzia were now target shooting with Russ's grenades and Marzia's hunting rifle, Cheyenne was still trying with the rocket launcher, Cry was sparing with Snake, Jund was sat down reading his book and mumbling passages with his hands outstretched and Mark was still trying his best with his pistol.

"You think we can do this?" Jack asked as Ken looked towards him, then at the others before shrugging.

"I think we stand a good chance." He replied with a nod as Jack let a weak smile slip as he lent back. He knew they could do it, he believed in Cry and Mark and the others a lot. But somehow a little doubt still hung in the back of his mind, that nagging thought of 'What if they didn't?'

\------

"Keep up the pace, Jack!" Cheyenne spoke as Jack drifted out of his thoughts and to the moment at hand. It was quickly growing darker as the group made their way towards the castle a lot more prominent before them now. As the main entrance to the building was in sight Cheyenne hauled the rocket launcher she had been practicing with onto her shoulder as Jund held his hands out in front of him ready to do his part. The two acted quick and in sync as Cheyenne pulled the trigger and the shards of ice formed, freezing almost everything around them.

"Go!" The woman yelled as everyone began to storm the place. Russ was sat next to Marzia on a nearby ledge overlooking the area, a cool breeze rushing past them as Marzia looked through the scope of her rifle, trying to kill off any threats she came across.

"This is gonna be a piece of cake." Russ spoke as he took a drink of his water, hoping he hadn't just jinxed his own words. Meanwhile as the castle erupted into chaos Snake and Cry crouched behind the foliage of the forest to find the perfect spot to infiltrate, Snake had already taken down a few soldiers as the other sort of was just there. At some point in all this Cry's head began to pound, he knew exactly what was going on but he tried his best to hide it, clenching his fists and forcing his shoulders not to shake.

"This way." Snake muttered, oblivious to Cry's condition as the masked man just nodded and followed Snake into the building, readying his gun for combat.

\----

Mark and the others held their ground as a battle ensued before them, more soldiers kept coming from the shadows as the group held them off, and it was working. Until Cry and Snake had gotten into the castle they were just the distraction to focus on. Jack looked over and saw Mark stumble slightly, he was quick to go over to him and hit the demon about the attack the American with his bat.

"Thanks." He said as Jack just grinned. The fight eventually dragged on until everything slowed down, the soldiers stopped attacking and an eerie silence filled the grand hall.

"I told them to have better preparations, damnit." A voice spoke out of the darkness as the group looked towards the figure making their way down the huge staircase onto the battle ground, as said person walked the ice around everyone that Jund had initially formed started to melt, rapidly as flames rose from nowhere.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Ken muttered as he held his weapon a little tighter, as did everybody else. The man coming down the staircase pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and took a quick look around, at all the dead bodies, all the blood and destruction and sighed.

"You chose a good time to attack us." Alex spoke as his face split into a crooked grin.

"When the king and his fox are away playing x-box." The man's hands took on an even more eerie glow as Jund's ice was corroded completely. The two wizards locked gazes as Jund understood the challenge in the other man's eyes. 

"Fire versus Ice it is." Scott spat as Alex chuckled.

"Indeed. Time to see what you Late Night Crew can do." 

"I expected it to take a while to over throw the castle but at this rate no one will win." Marzia spoke as she sniped three more demons from her position next Russ in a ledge near the castle. The man nodded as he looked onward with a pair of binoculars, nothing did seem to be changing. 

"Snake and Cry must be in there by now. This shit is drawing in demons that we need to hold back, we just need to buy them time." Marzia just sighed as she looked up from her scope for a moment to take a look around them, to put it simply, it was utter chaos.

"Yeah. But just how much time can we buy them?"

\----

The halls were dark and dingy as Snake and Cry quietly made their way across the castle. The pain behind Cry's temples refused to let up as he crouched next to the other man, Snake cast a quick look towards him as the masked man couldn't help but flinch.

"You okay?" He asked as the other slowly nodded, making up some bullshit excuse he knew Snake wouldn't buy, but knew the other man wouldn't pry about. As thought, the other just nodded and pointed towards a staircase to the left of them

"This has to be it." He said as Cry nodded and followed his gaze, his hands were shaking as he struggled to wrestle with his own fingers to stop the jagged movements of them, he just had to hold the gun and move. That's what he told himself as he stayed close on the other mans' heels as they ascended the castle.

He just had to get back home. As they reached the last few steps of the staircase a shrill laugh filled the atmosphere around them, Snake instantly taking his weapon and Cry tensing up greatly.

"Well, well..." The voice was light with a slight giggle as small steps were heard against the carpet in front of them. Snake was the first to slowly rise to his feet, Cry following him after with a slight, almost un-noticeable stumble.

"What happened to you, Dodger?" Cry asked with a shifting gaze, his eyes looking up and down the woman, fox ears and tail included. The woman grinned as her eyes stared back at the two men, glaring almost.

"You like them?"


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it guys. Thank you so much for following and liking this story, it means a hell of a lot. But all good things must come to an end I'm afraid.

"Get out of here." Snake's words were firm as said man turned towards Cry.

"W-what? Why?" He stayed quiet as the brunette just looked down at his feet, slowly looking back towards his once human friend, the woman still grinning from ear to ear.

"Go on then." She piped up with a swish of here tail. "The 'throne' room is straight ahead, up the stairs." Cry nervously looked towards Snake, then back at Dodger, then towards the stairs at the end of hall.

"I can take her." Snake assured, seeing his friend's expression.

"I'd like to see you try..." The woman muttered under her breath as Cry slowly stepped past the two, slowly gaining speed before breaking out into a dash and not looking back. This felt like a trap, probably was...that's why he just had to fight whatever was going to come at him. He scrambled up the steps and shoved his weight against the huge oak door before him, it easily giving under him as his eyes locking with the only person in the dark and empty room.

"Jesse!"

\-----

Jund quickly ducked as a whirlwind of fire lit above his head, the fight was going next to no-where, both Jund and Octo as strong as each other with their magic. Mark and the others attacked in turn, each hit easily taken or deflected. Jack ran towards him in the silence, letting out a cry and swinging his bat wildly. Alex barely had time to dodge as he moved on each swing, avoiding the bat.

"So fast." He grinned as he saw an opening as swiftly punched Jack in the stomach, the Irishman dropping his weapon and being thrown backwards, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Jack!" Mark ran out, firing his gun towards Alex, the man readjusted his glasses with one hand and let out burst of fire into the air with the other, burning the bullets to ash before they could reach him. Ken and Cheyenne were ducked behind some rubble as they looked at the scene before them, Alex in the middle of all the chaos, Mark reaching Jack and quickly pulling him away from the danger and Jund glaring at the other magic user as the two locked gazes.

"This isn't going anywhere..." The woman muttered as she watched to two men start to circle each other, Jund making the temperature drop around him and Octo casting dark shadows with his flames dancing around him. Soon the two were at it again, ice forming spontaneously and fire being flung around, the two punched and kicked, Jund taking a fist to the face and Alex taking a kick to the gut. Sudden noises above them caused everyone to slowly stop as dust and rubble shifted and crumbled from the ceiling. Then it just stopped. Silence.

"Put me down you oaf!" High pitched screaming came from just above the staircase as Snake appeared, making his way down onto the scene carrying a tied up and squirming Dodger. Octo couldn't help but face palm as he stared at his friend.

"You going to fight too?" Snake's voice interrupted as Alex shifted his gaze, shrinking away a bit at the man's intimidating gaze.

"Um...Evidently..." Alex gestured around him. "I have been." That's when the men went stock still at the ice suddenly forming around his feet and legs, he instantly started to try and melt it until Snake's fist connected with the man's face, sending him backwards, unconscious.

"Alex!" Dodger yelled as she was thrown onto the floor.

"Get Marzia and Russ." The man said as Cheyenne nodded and ran towards the door, waving her hands to get the other's attention to get down to where they were.

\----

"We have to do this now. We don't have much time until the demons get here." Marzia said as she swung the gun strap over her shoulder, the others all shared a nod as Snake lead the way up the castle, explaining what had happened to Cry along the way. The halls were silent and crumbling from the effects of battle, almost too quiet for the others liking as Snake put his hand up as a signal for everyone to stop. Glances were shared as they reached the door to the top of the castle.

"We really doing this? What are we even 'doing'?" Ken muttered as Jack shrugged.

"I don't even know at this point, man." What they expected on the other side of that door certainly wasn't what they had first thought, it was dark and so, so silent. The only visible things being the mere outlines of the room and the hunched figure in the center, the trembling body and hushed hisses cast upon by shadows.

"Cry?" Cheyenne spoke as the man jolted.

"N-No. Don't." The woman physically stopped as the rest of the group followed her into the room, each holding their weapons a little tighter at the atmosphere. The man in front of them wasn't the 'Cry' they knew. That much was evident from his erratic movements as he scrambled away from them. He looked beat up and bloody, shaking from head to toe.

"Grab him, we need to go." Cheyenne said as Jund and Russ slowly walked up to him, this only caused the other man to stumble to his feet and attempt to get away from them, his heavy footfalls only getting him a few feet before his legs buckled.

"I-I'm not stable...I'm not. I'm not...okay." He stuttered as he flinched, Russ's hand coming down on his shoulder somewhat firmly.

"We have to get out of here, buddy." He said as the brunette just shook his head, eyes welling up with tears.

"I-It's not that s-simple..." Russ and Jund shared a concerned look as a noise arose from the shadows, causing everyone to stop and for Cry's eyes to widen.

"He's right. It's not that simple." The voice from the darkness was recognizable to everybody. As Cheyenne's stomach dropped.

"Jesse." She spoke as the other man laughed and stepped out in front of the group, in the back of everyone's mind they knew who was truly behind this, maybe they just didn't want to admit it. However, this, this was the final big stand of. The barrier between this world and theirs, and they would do everything to make it back home.

"You know, when we started doing this..." He waved his hands around him. "We expected a fight, but you. You all fought way more than you should."

"This is sick." Jack muttered under his breath as Mark put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You think you can just 'control' us?" Mark asked as Jesse laughed.

"That was the plan...Technically I already have three of you on our side." Everyone fell silent as two more figures stepped out of the shadows.

"Let's make things interesting shall we? Ever fought yourselves?" He addressed Mark as the other rose an eyebrow and gripped his weapon a little tighter.

"Ourselves? What's that mean?" Jack asked angrily as there was a chuckle from the darkness.

"Are you deaf? It's exactly what it sounds like, little man." The voice that replied was all to similar, the thick Irish accent and the grin in the shadows as the figure showed themselves. The entire room fell silent as Jack's eyes widened, the demon in question looked just like the others, hollowed eyes, fangs that glinted dangerously every time he smiled and maybe a little more self aware.

"W-what the fuck?" Jack breathed, his breath falling short. He was staring at himself. The dead silence continued as someone else crept out of the darkened corners, looking just as dark as the Irishman's counter part.

"You know nothing about this place.What were you expecting?" The deep voice, smooth words, twisted smirk. Just as recognizable as Jack, was Mark. 

"Let's play a game shall we?"

\---------

The castle was falling apart, the ceiling was collapsing, the floor giving in under the weight of battle but yet it still ensued and everyone was just trying to survive. Every bullet that just missed Mark's face went by slowly in a panicked breath, other's nicking his skin in bloody bursts. Every swing of the bat that bruised Jack's skin sent his vision red, the picture of their own twisted selves inflicting the damage unfathomable in the pain endued fog of thought in their brains.

"We need to get out of here!" Jund yelled as he and Russ hurled Cry up on his feet and guided the stumbling man away. Ken fired shots towards the grand doors as they collapsed under the demons forcing their way in. A merge of known and unknown faces of people lost in the madness of the world, Ken fired into the crowd, knocking a few down but not killing them. 

"This way!" Cheyenne said as she kicked down a door behind Jesse's throne, the actual man no where to be seen. Ken and Cheyenne shot wildly to try and keep the demons back as Russ and Jund helped Cry into the room, Marzia running in after them under the cover of Snake.

"Mark! Jack!" Ken yelled as the building around them didn't just break but also started to fade. The walls were turning to an inky blackness as Jack scrambled on the floor, trying to get away from the bat indenting into his skin as his counter part swung wildly, his own weapon long gone in the chaos. 

One hit in particular almost took the Irishman out, straight into his side as his body groaned under the strain.

"Don't run from me, Jack-a-boy." The bitter accent, so similar but just so different from his own echoed in his head before hands wrapped around his throat, the bat clattering to the floor. Air escaped him, held up against the wall he could not only see his other sides face more clearly but Mark, too struggling against his own self, the others trying to hold out against the demons across the room but also the darkness creeping in, the timer was running out, and so was Jack's.

"Pathetic." Was the last thing he heard before the last amount of air left his lungs and everything faded to silence and darkness.

...

....

.....

......

That was until it was broken messily by a single gunshot. 

In that one moment the pressure on his throat vanished, vision and hearing returned to him and he fell, sputtering on air, to the floor. Hands landed on his shoulders roughly as he tried to get away, letting out a garbled cry at the dead body in front of him. It looked too real, it was real, it was his own dead body, in every single way.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He was quickly enveloped in a hug as Mark knelt in front of him, the Irishman's eyes unblinking, stuck on his own lifeless and dead eyes over the American's shoulder. 

"We need to go, now." Mark whispered as Jack blindly nodded and was helped to his feet, the blackness closing in, the demons closing in, everything just closing in as the two reached the door and stumbled inside as Ken slammed the door behind them. The door itself eventually fading into nothing but a blank wall.

"H-Holy shit." Jund's voice shook as everyone frantically looked at each other.

"We did it..." Russ muttered under his breath as Cry shakily stood up and shook his head.

"No, not yet. We still need to get out of here." It was true. Everyone was beat and bruised and even scared both physically and mentally but they all knew that wasn't over. Not until they actually got home, got to their own lives. It was in that moment Mark wondered how long they'd been gone for, if it had been hours, days, months, years even. Did anyone know, were they all just erased? 

He'd find out soon enough however as they made their way into what looked to be an inside garden, the entire area trashed and ruined by battle, the group passed bodies as they walked, Jack couldn't help but stare with sadness in his eyes as the others just kept going until they reached a well. It wasn't anything fancy but it was huge and reminded Jack of the one he'd jumped through, when he'd left Felix to those beings...he couldn't do anything about that, he knew, but the shame and the guilt and the fear still hung on his shoulders as he stared down into the darkness of it.

"This it?" Jack asked with a shaky voice as Cry nodded, crossing his arms and nervously biting his lip.

"We've been so close before but now...but now-" 

"We can go home." Snake cut in as a silence fell. Marzia was the first to properly go up to the well and begin to swung her legs over.

"This is how we got in," She spoke. "This is how we get out." With that everyone climbed in one by one, everyone sat perched on the well edge and ready to go.

"So we...just jump?" Mark asked as Russ laughed nervously.

"That's the idea." And with that he was the first to let go, falling into the abyss. Cry's breath hitched as he watched his friend fall, everyone was scared, not just him. Snake was next as he just shook his head and mumbled about Russ being a reckless moron before he went, then it was Marzia, Jund, then Ken, then Cheyenne and Cry as they went in together and then it was just Mark and Jack left.

"Hey." Jack looked up towards his friend as he could see the fear in his eyes, the American wasn't trying to show it but he was freaking out as much as Jack was.

"I'm scared." The Irishman was quick to admit as he felt tears in the corners of his eyes, he didn't want Mark to leave him, he just didn't want to be alone.

"It's going to be fine." Mark tried to assure him, although it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself as he tried to keep eye contact with Jack.

"It's just opening and closing your eyes, right?" Jack muttered as he nodded.

"Exactly." That's when Mark let go and fell. "See you on the flip side!" He yelled up as he finally let the darkness take him. Jack was alone now. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. He cast one more nervous glace around him and took a deep breath while closing his eyes.

"Opening and closing your eyes, Jack. That's all it is." Then he let go, falling into the unknown. But it wasn't so 'unknown' to him, because like the others, like Mark and Cry and Ken...

He was going home.

 

END.


	14. Epilogue

All Jack could see was blood, red, crimson streaks covered his face and hands, seeping deeper into his clothes. His breathing quickened and his eyes darted around, unsettled.

"O-oh god." He muttered as he saw the bodies, his friends, his own non-related family, dead. Jack's legs buckled as he fell to his knees beside Mark, the man's once so happy eyes staring blankly into his own.

"M-Mark, I-I'm sorry." Tears streamed down Jack's face as he cupped his friend's face, more blood smearing onto his hands. He didn't know what to do, he didn't even know if this was real but he just wanted it to be over.

"You won, Jack-a-boy." He knew that voice as his head snapped up to meet his own eyes. But they were darker, not human and hollow.

"What do you mean?" Jack's voice wavered slightly as the other let out a bark of laughter that made his fang like teeth glint dangerously in the light.

"I see, you're already forgetting…Well, you can have this body for now." And with that the bat in his hands was swung down and hit Jack’s head hard, all he felt was immense pain and blood smothered his vision red. A scream split past his mouth as everything shuddered to black.

\-----

The Irishman woke up with a start in his bed, he didn't know how late it was or how long he'd been asleep for. He just stared, wide eyed at his bedroom ceiling for a few moments before rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Fucking nightmares, man." He muttered as he finally reached over and grabbed his phone, it was still very early in the morning as he read a few texts from Felix about a new collab and replied. He also checked his email, twitter and Instagram before he decided to get up and go to the bathroom.

As the man stared warily at himself in the mirror he felt the sudden urge that he was forgetting something. What? Well, that's what he'd forgotten as he tried to clear the dense fog covering his mind. However he doubted it was anything too important considering he would've made a note of it as he leaned down to wash his face.

He felt like the water was cleaning a long left wound as he looked up into his own eyes, they looked darker, not in the colour sense but just generally, darker. As he slowly patted hit skin dry he finally decided to just head back to bed as he failed to see the whites of his eyes turn black, a pin-prick of white for a pupil before it just a quickly turned back as he left the room and switched off the light.

Things were normal.

For now.

**'A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.' ~ Nikos Kazantzakis**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, I can't say this enough. Thank you so much for reading this, honestly. If you'd like to check out some of my other one shots, or even more Septiplier, be sure to give my name a click.


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